Apple has unveiled its new ‘Shot with iPhone’ ad campaign – a World Gallery of stunning photographs taken with the iPhone 6 camera. It’s surely no coincidence that it was launched on the day Samsung announced its iPhone-rivalling S6 in an attempt to deflect attention from its competitor’s announcement.

The campaign turns the focus away from the iPhone itself and concentrates on the creative results you can achieve using it.

Apple has also followed up its web gallery with a global series of minimal billboards showcasing photos from 70 different cities around the world, along with the text ‘Shot with iPhone’. Most of the images have been sourced from social media and will thrust amateur photographers – i.e. regular, every day people – into the spotlight.

A cheap way for Apple to obtain existing content perhaps, but more importantly it shows a company looking to engage more directly with the consumer.

The gallery has taken over the front page of Apple’s website and is full of inspiring and beautiful photographs, each accompanied by notes on the composition as well as the apps used.

Camera phones have become an increasingly popular everyday alternative to bespoke traditional or digital cameras and it looks like this trend is set to continue as mobile technology improves. The fact that Apple can plaster huge billboards with pictures taken on a humble telephone is evidence of just how good the iPhone camera has become.

Apple devices are already the #1 most used camera brand in the world (according to Flickr) and they will be hoping this campaign keeps it that way for the foreseeable future.